Podcasts about goats matthew

In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb bring their extended series on the parables of Matthew to a powerful climax with the passage most listeners have been waiting for: the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46). Far from a checklist of works required for salvation, this text is unpacked as the master parable of Christ's entire parabolic ministry — a sovereign declaration of divine election, not a merit-based audit of individual performance. Tony and Jesse explore why this passage has been chronically misread as a call to works righteousness, why the language of inheritance and predestination is front and center, and how a Reformed reading liberates rather than burdens the conscience. Along the way, they weigh in on Herman Bavinck's prescient warning about media distraction, and Jesse recommends a Puritan gem on anxiety worth picking up immediately. Key Takeaways The Sheep and Goats is best understood as a parable, or at minimum parable-adjacent. The Greek construction in verse 31 mirrors the same comparative language Christ uses throughout his parabolic ministry, placing this text firmly within that tradition rather than outside it. The kingdom was prepared before any works were done — this is election language. The phrase "inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (v. 34) is not a reward for performance; it is the language of sovereign predestination preceding all human action. The works of the sheep are diagnostic, not causative. What the righteous did reveals who they already were — sheep — rather than being the mechanism by which they became sheep. The beak doesn't make the bird. Both groups are surprised, and that surprise is the parabolic punchline. Neither the sheep nor the goats anticipated the verdict they received, which undermines any reading that frames this text as an encouragement to accumulate saving merit. This passage is a recapitulation of the wheat and tares parable. Sheep and goats co-mingled until the moment of final separation, just as wheat and tares grow together until the harvest — the judgment reveals what was always true. Any theology that requires a human contribution to activate or complete salvation misreads this text.Whether Roman Catholic, Arminian, or Mormon in flavor, every view that makes God's preparation of the kingdom contingent on foreseen human merit fundamentally inverts the logic of the passage. The scope of judgment — "all nations" (ta ethnos) — would have been scandalous to first-century Jewish ears. This language deliberately expands the kingdom beyond ethnic Israel, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant promise and confounding the assumptions of the religious elite. Key Concepts The Kingdom Prepared Before Your Works: Sovereign Election, Not Merit When the King says to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34), the theological weight of that single sentence is staggering. The kingdom was not prepared in response to anything the sheep did. It was prepared before time, before works, before choice — which means the works that follow in the passage cannot be the grounds of that inheritance. Only a Calvinistic understanding of election can sustain this logic without remainder. Arminian views require God to foresee a qualifying human response; Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views require some degree of meritorious participation; even certain Lutheran frameworks lean on non-resistance to grace. Reformed theology alone places the entire cause within God's sovereign, unconditional decree — and this passage, read plainly, says exactly that. Works as Evidence, Not Ground: The Diagnostic Function of This Parable The great pastoral error in preaching this passage is treating it as a performance rubric — a list of charitable acts that, if completed, qualify a person for eternal life. But Christ does not separate the sheep from the goats because of what they did or failed to do. He separates them, and then describes the activity that characterized each group. The works are revelatory. They surface what was already true of each person's nature, just as a bird's beak reveals its species rather than constituting it. This reframing is liberating precisely because it means assurance does not rest on tallying acts of charity. It rests on the sovereign act of a Father who prepared a kingdom and the regenerating work of the Spirit who produces, in those He has claimed, a life that looks like the one described here. "All Nations": The Scandal of an Ethnically Inclusive Kingdom The Greek phrase ta ethnē — translated "all nations" in most English Bibles — would have landed very differently on first-century Jewish ears, particularly those of the Pharisees and Sadducees who comprised a significant portion of Christ's audience throughout Matthew 24–25. To them, ta ethnē meant the Gentiles, the peoples out there, those outside the covenant. The implicit effect of Christ's language is to place every people group — including Israel — within a single undifferentiated mass standing before his throne, with no ethnic group receiving preferential standing at the bar of judgment. This is entirely consistent with the Abrahamic promise of blessing to all families of the earth (Genesis 12:3), the vision of Psalm 2, and the missionary thrust of the Great Commission. The scandal is not incidental — it is the point. The kingdom Christ is ushering in is not the ethnic-nationalist kingdom the religious establishment expected. Memorable Quotes The kingdom of heaven was prepared for those whom Christ has elected before the foundation of the world, and it was the preparation of that kingdom that brought you through this such that you did the good works that you did... That is caused by the fact that God prepared a kingdom for you in advance, not that you somehow caused this kingdom to be prepared for you. - Tony It's not the beak that makes it the sparrow, it's the sparrow that makes it the kind of beak it is. That's the kind of classification we're talking about in this parable. - Tony The best freedom is the one that turns over all things to God and takes him at his word when he says, 'In love you were predestined to inherit this as sons and daughters of the kingdom,' so that he does all the work, because we do not want to have any of that work our own. - Jesse Full Transcript [00:01:11] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 498 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse  [00:01:19] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:24] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. They said it couldn't be done. They said we couldn't come back. We wouldn't come back and continue in Matthew 25. But here we are, and we're ending this chapter in this whole section about sheep and goats. Everybody was clamoring for it. Everybody wanted to know, what about the sheep and the goats? And I think the last time we all chatted together, we prefaced it by saying it's parable adjacent. Or let's just say- Yes ... we just stacked up these three other parables, lots of things going on, and then Jesus resolves this or brings all these parables to a culmination by speaking about the end times, the end of all things, and the sheep and the goats. Yeah. And so we gotta go there  [00:02:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I'm stoked.  [00:02:07] What Counts Parable [00:02:07] Tony Arsenal: And y- you know, I, I was talking with a brother at, um, at church yesterday on the Lord's day, and he was asking how the podcast's going and what we're doing. And, you know, I was kind of thinking, like, I was talking about the parables and how we're kind of moving forward, and we were gonna do some of the I am sayings in John. And, and I was thinking, like, what is a parable anyways? And who decides what a parable is and what a parable isn't? Right. Um, some of the parables Christ calls a parable, others he doesn't. Uh, we'll probably talk a little bit about that when we get to, uh, some of the back half of Luke. But this, this episode I think is gonna be really, really the payoff and really the culmination of not just these, like, this trio of or trilogy of parables that we've talked about, but I think really, like, the payout of all of the parables in Matthew. It's really, like, the summary of all of Christ's parabolic teachings. So it's, it's a good place for us to round out Matthew, and then we'll, we'll dip into the parables in the other gospels, probably have a couple more months of, of, uh, parable talk before we move on to the next thing. But, uh, it's been great, and I'm super, super stoked for this. This is one of my favorite passages, actually, and there's so much to dig into. I, I, I'm just gonna say now, we probably won't make it through the whole thing- Right ... uh, because there's a lot there. But we'll see. We'll see how we do. Maybe Jesse and I will be super efficient tonight, uh, but we usually aren't, so. [00:03:27] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's never happened. We, we take it low and slow. Not only that- ... it was reminding me as you spoke about that kind of proverb generally of if you wanna go build a wall, you assess what you need, how many stones, and then you go gather those stones. Yeah. You should double it, or if you're gonna go out and fight an army, take stock of that army. That's basically what we do, but in reverse. Anytime, like, you just... I just heard you say- ... like, "It'll probably take us a couple more months," you should double that. That's probably how long- Yeah ... it's actually gonna take us.  [00:03:50] Faith Works Assurance [00:03:50] Jesse Schwamb: Even in this- Yeah ... conversation, I think we're gonna get stuck in the best way possible speaking about things like faith, works, and assurance because there's a lot of language here- Yeah that could seem on the surface to sit in this tension with justification by faith alone. And I think the key to resolving all that tension, as I hopefully think we'll see, lies in the readings of works as the evidence of living faith rather than its ground, and I think that's what- Yes ... Christ is leading us through all of these parables, actually, whether it goes back. And you should listen to all those episodes. In fact, I gotta ask. Th- I mean, this brother you were talking to, it just strikes me as that question had already be answered for him if you were listening to the podcast. So-  [00:04:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I don't think he does. No, I don't think he does- ... listen to the podcast. Uh, he knows that I do the podcast, and he's very gracious to ask me about it. Tom. And I think he's probably listened to the podcast before. Got it. Um, and he's, he's just a very kind, gracious brother who, who is concerned and wants to know what I'm doing. And, um, he has, he has his own sort of, like, production stuff that he does that he enjoys that I'm, I'm not super keyed into. But, uh, it was just nice. But, but it did get me thinking, like, I was trying to explain to him where we were in the progress of the parables, and I was like, "I can't really... I don't really know," because, like, it's hard to even understand and fully... There's no, like, full comprehensive universal list of what is a parable- Right ... and what's not. And I think what we've found as we've been going through this is sometimes, sometimes you come up against a portion of a text that is often taught sort of separate from the, the rest of it. Parables get taught discreet from other parables. But then you have these sort of, like, intervening texts, or this one's kind of a summary text, that's so integrated to what the parable means you really can't do a series on these parables without also treating this text. Which is gonna be interesting, 'cause I've never, I've never encountered somebody who really roots this teaching here of Christ in the context of the parables, despite its proximity. So it'll be fun. We're gonna figure it out in real time, and, and it'll be good.  [00:05:47] Jesse Schwamb: No, it's gonna be fun.  [00:05:48] Deny Doomscrolling Bavinck [00:05:48] Jesse Schwamb: And speaking of fun, we're so glad that you're listening, and we know that you're waiting with bated breath to hear about affirmations or denials. It's of course that part of the conversation where we either affirm with something that we think is fantastic, maybe by way of recommendation, or conversely, we deny against something that isn't that great. So Tony, as is our custom in the liturgy of the Reformed Brotherhood podcast, I ask you once again, are you affirming with or deny against? [00:06:15] Tony Arsenal: I am denying against something, and I'm gonna do that by affirming a Herman Bavinck quote. Uh, so I'm gonna read it for you. This, uh... Some of the guys in the Facebook group have put... or the Facebook group, the Telegram chat, have put together a, uh, like, a reading group to work through Bavinck's, uh, Wonderful Works of God, which is great, and I'm loving it. I haven't been able to participate in the conversation as much as I would like to, but just being part of a reading group, uh, sort of keeps you on schedule, which is great. So I've been reading through Wonderful Works of God, and on the Kindle edition, on page 34, uh, which I think is still the, I think is still the, uh, introduction, he says, quote, "The reading of daily and weekly newspapers, of magazines and brochures, devours our every blink. There's a lack of desire and opportunity for the investigation of scripture and the study of old theological works," end quote. And when I read that, it just really struck me as like- If that was true like 70 years ago, 80 years ago when Bavinck was writing this, right? And all there was was hard, hard copy media. There was no, uh, there was no digital media. There was radio, but there wasn't a lot of programming. Uh, I don't think that there was much in the way of television broadcasting. If there was, it was, it was very, very limited and very rudimentary. Um, even then he was saying the daily news cycle and all of this extra stuff that is out there is consuming our, quote, "Every blink," which I thought was a really interesting phrase. Um, it's basically like it's so ingrained in us, we're so invested and obsessed with the news cycle. Uh, or you might translate that to like to our Twitter feed or our Facebook feed or our Instagram reels or whatever it might be, and dare I say it, the podcasts we listen to.  [00:08:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:08:05] Tony Arsenal: Um, that we don't save time for scripture and other theological works. And I think it's funny too is that the, the eternal, uh, the eternal contemporary statement of the Reformed world is like we don't read enough old theological works. Even Bavinck, who I'm reading as one of the old... I mean, not like super old, but like one of the old theological works, is saying, "Hey, we don't read enough old theological works." So I'm denying this sort of like obsession we have with the daily news cycle and with constantly being up to date and like constantly consuming all of that. Um, we've talked about how like our modern global news cycle sort of, uh, is built around the deception that we can be sort of pseudo omnipotent and know all things about everything. And, um- There's a lot of work that's been done to show that, like, the world's not really that much, not that much more of a violent place than it was 100 years ago. We just know a lot more about what's going on- Right ... in other parts of the world. And there's pros and cons to that. But I think the main con is, like, we, we feel suddenly that we have to be, you know, deeply involved in the goings on of a church on the other side of the country that we never would've even known existed otherwise. It- there's just a, there's a sense of omnipotence and omnipresence that's just not becoming for the creature that I think we try to take on. So Bavinck knew it. Uh, we've talked about it. Lots and lots of people have talked about it. This isn't new. I'm not, I'm not e- engineering anything new on this. But that quote really struck me when I was reading. I was like, "Dang, man, he, he got it right 100 years ago or, or 80 years ago, and we're still struggling with it." And I think probably, like, if you go back and you look at the, I don't know, more occasional writings of people like Martin Luther and John Calvin, um, as they're interacting with, like, people in the Reformed community or the Protestant community, I bet you would find statements like this too about how, like, we really spend a lot of time reading, like, silly things and not spending- Right our time studying the scripture or studying, um, theological works. So that's my denial. I'm sticking to it, and if that means you feel like you need to turn this podcast off and go read some John Calvin or some Herman Bavinck, then by all means. Uh, I think you're probably going to be edified by what we have to talk about. But, uh, th- the Bible's better, so if you gotta go do it, if you only got- That's true ... an hour today to study scripture or listen to this podcast, please go study scripture. Yeah. Uh, hopefully we can do a little bit of both with this podcast. But Herman Bavinck said it best. Our every blink is consumed with pamphlets and newspapers and it just is- It's true it's pretty silly.  [00:10:41] Jesse Schwamb: It's true.  [00:10:42] Meme Detour Reading Groups [00:10:42] Jesse Schwamb: I gotta take us all the way back to where you started there, and I'm going to betray, to nobody's surprise, my really strong naivete when it comes- ... to social media, and memes in particular. But this is what occurred to me, and I'm gonna try it. This is, like, what classically makes really good podcasting. Let me try to describe a meme to you that I'm not even sure I actually understand or know. So this will be great. I think, you tell me, Tony, 'cause you may have seen this. It's an old meme too, so I'm not even, like, on the cutting edge here. I think it's a meme of two panels showing, like, two pictures of Drake. In know one he's kinda, like, pushing away as if to say, like, "Get that outta here," and the other one's like, "Oh yeah, that's the stuff." Do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Is that accurate?  [00:11:21] Tony Arsenal: I do. I think you're gonna use it wrong, but yeah.  [00:11:23] Jesse Schwamb: Is that Drake? Okay, all  [00:11:24] Tony Arsenal: right. Yeah, that's, that's the meme.  [00:11:25] Jesse Schwamb: Okay, okay. And usually, if I understand it correctly, it's kind of like a faux juxtaposition of two things, right? Like, okay. So like here, let me try it. Uh, uh, let me just try it on everybody. Here we go. I'm gonna describe to you how I just interpret this based on what you said, 'cause something cracked me up that you said, Tony. If I were gonna make this meme just based on how you opened that up, the first panel would be like Drake pushing away the idea or being like, "That's no good," book club. The second one would be reading group, as in like, like the reading group is like the new cool way of like just kind of... Did I use it properly? Am I close?  [00:11:59] Tony Arsenal: I think the problem with this is that there's like a, there's like an ironic way to use it, and then there's like a more direct way to use it. Mm. Yeah. The direct way would be like some- like Drake's pushing away something that's bad, and he's- Yeah ... like accepting something that's good. That'd be like the direct way. Yes. The more ironic one is where like Drake is pushing away something that's actually pretty, actually pretty good, and he's- Yeah ... accepting the one that's pretty silly. Oh, okay. Um, there's a lot of memes that have that basic format. Never mind. There's one with like Jordi LaForge. I think there's a Michael Scott one. I tried. I tried. But yeah, no, I, I think yours is valid, it's just, I think it's an older usage of the meme. That's like the, that's like the middle English version of that meme. The Shakespearean use of that meme.  [00:12:36] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I'll take that. It's the old English style. I love a good book club or a reading group. A, a reading group just, it does have that sound like maybe somebody in the group has a monocle, or you guys have tea. Either way- Yeah ... I absolutely love it. And yes, what are our beautiful quotes. You kind of hear that general conception recapitulated among like theologians almost in every era. But it does make you think, what would Bavinck say about, like doom scrolling on the smartphone? Like- Yeah ... he's beside himself, right? It would just be beside himself. So I'm with you. I, it, there's gonna be a condemnation in every generation. Maybe I say this with some degree of like chronological snobbery, especially in ours, when it comes to not, like you said, I think kind of like not carving out or not prioritizing time in the scriptures. Yeah. There's not gonna be any excuse of like, "Well, I just didn't have time." Right. Or, "There were too many things to read." It's just, it's not gonna cut it. So I'm with you. I think you and I have talked about this at length, even just like the news media like you and I consume, like just s- set aside social media for a second. Just like how i- how much value is there in a lot of like what we cons- used to consider to be like well-informed reporting? How valuable is that to us? Yeah. And I'm certainly not saying like that everybody should be like unconcerned and uninterested in the world, but I think it's to what degree and what fascination we have with that, and how it fits into our priority as we consume information each day. That's the thing that's tricky, and there's no really-  [00:14:02] Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  [00:14:02] Jesse Schwamb: good answer except to weigh out with the spiritual discernment- Yeah ... how we ought to consume that stuff. But certainly I think, without question, we need to be prioritizing time in prayer, time in the scriptures. I imagine if we were all doing that with a great deal of attention, that all of the other things would kind of find their way into the right place. Or let's say they would just find their way out of our lives in a significant way- Yeah ... that would remove us from distraction and anxiety, instead bring us back into the providence of God.  [00:14:31] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And I'm not, I'm not gonna be the guy that tells you you can never s- you can never scroll Instagram or TikTok or whatever. Um, I, I think that's a decision that's between you and the Holy Spirit as far as how you spend your time. But I, I do think, um, I think you're right- We are accountable for the decisions we make and how- Right ... we choose to divide up our time. And I- God, I mean, God is the inventor of fun. He's the inventor of leisure, and he is, uh, I think he's pleased and honored when we, we make good use of our time f- for things that are restful and rejuvenating. Um, he doesn't expect us to just slavishly read scripture all day, every day, like every minute. That's not, that's not the biblical expectation. Um, and so I think it's fine if you wanna sit down and watch a fun show, or if you wanna watch some YouTube videos, or listen to a silly podcast, or listen to a serious podcast. Um, but I do, I agree. Like, we, we really need to be thoughtful. And I think where, where Bavinck's quote, uh, is strong is it's not so much about, "Don't read these things." Right. He, he's talking about these things consume our every blink. Like, m- he's treating blink... He's using the word blink as sort of a fill-in for like our, our finite resource of time and attention, and these things have consumed all of them. There's a very strong use of that word consume. Uh, and I, I think that's really the, the point that I'm trying to make is we often allow, either intentionally or unintentionally, we, we just let our time get all sucked up, uh, on things that maybe are good but are not pr- properly proportioned. Um- Like I said, it's, it's fine to spend some time on Twitter and to get into a debate once in a while, or to check in on your friends on Facebook, your old high school, college buddies or whatever, but we can definitely take it too far. So I think it's a good corrective for all of us to at least make a stop and think about how we're spending our time, and whether we are affording the appropriate amount of time to things like scripture, theological study, catechesis of our children, um, family worship, all of those good things. So we don't have to go much more into that. I think the point has been made. Uh, so Jesse, what are you affirming and/or denying tonight?  [00:16:43] Affirm Puritan Anxiety Cure [00:16:43] Jesse Schwamb: Perfect segue, because speaking of reading old things, you know me, I've always got some kind of Puritan work in the rotation, and the one I just finished is the one I'm affirming, which is called Special Providence for Anxious Souls by Obadiah Sedgwick, who I think is kinda... Like, people are sleeping on Sedgwick, you know? Mm-hmm. He's, he's kinda like, he's there in the wings, but we need to take him off the bench. And I came across this book and I thought, "Who doesn't want a title like that in their lives?" Like, we got some anxiety in all of our souls. And I'm affirming this because, uh, hi- his definitions, his writing is, are on point. But here's what I thought. I was embarrassed that I picked this up expecting one thing, and then in typical puritanical fashion, was delivered something else that was far better. And I was thinking about this title as you might see it, like, in your modern bookstore today, whether it's, like, in Barnes & Nobles or at any of the periodicals we were just kind of mentioning or implying that are out there. And I was expecting to get some kind of, I don't know, six or seven things, I mean, that's Puritan style, but six or seven things that would really help you diagnose the psychology, and then going back to the scripture in ways, all, all the ways we'd expect about how God loves us and cares for us, and all those things are true. And yet the only way I could describe how this book ministered to me is, like, how you might go to a physical therapist for some kind of ailment, which I have many as I get older, and have recently been to one. And the ailment I had was, um, basically like tarsal tunnel, which is like carpal tunnel for your foot. And so there was some nerves that were inflamed and causing some pain and some weirdness in my feet. And here's what I do know about physical therapy now that I think the Puritans also do for our souls, and that is the physical therapist gave me this full workup. They prodded me and poked me and rubbed things and made things hurt- And in the course of doing that, they clearly could figure out what was wrong with my foot. And so when he gave me the diagnosis, after, again, rubbing that part and, like, doing one of those things where he's like, you know, they tap on your hard and they're like, "Does that hurt?" I'm like, "Yes, it does hurt." And I presume that's because you know anatomy. And, you know, he's, he's ta- tapping on my ankle and it's causing my foot underneath to hurt. And after all that, you know, I run on a treadmill. He d- takes all this video, and this is what he says to me. He goes, "Yeah, so this is actually pretty straightforward." And I was like, "Great, so what are we talking about? Like exercises, uh, splints, like massage?" He's like, "You have a weak butt." And I was like- "I'm sorry, let's talk about that for a second." And this is what I've learned about physical therapy, is it's rarely about the thing that's actually bothering you or the thing that's hurt, right? It's something- Yeah ... far different. It's something almost seemingly, like, disjointed or removed or divorced from the very thing, maybe even non-contiguous, if only in our minds, maybe even logically. And so what I love about this is the first half of the book is just speaking about the province of God before it even gets into this idea of anxiety. And then the treatment on anxiety and worry is, he goes through, like, six or seven things in particular, are just absolutely glorious. So good that I want you to read it. I don't even want to talk about it. Uh, that, that's my admonishment to you, is that you should just go pick it up. So I'm affirming again that the Puritans in particular do this thing where there's, there's no cheap advice here. It's not even hide advice. It's really good advice, but it's the kind that says, "You have a weak butt" when you're concerned that your ankle- is messed up. Yeah. And that's sometimes what you need to hear. And in my case, after... Let's make this super weirdly spiritual. After doing a bunch of squats, I don't know what the spiritual equivalent is of that. After doing a bunch of squats, my ankle and my foot was so much better. And it, because I had somebody who cared enough for me to go through and actually diagnose the root of it, that was the reason that inevitably there was healing. So I've, this has given me so much to think about, this tiny little treatise. So much to put into practice. It's so rich, so good, so practical, and yet I think you'll find in many ways joyfully unexpected. So I highly affirm to everybody listening, and even those who aren't, Special Providence for Anxious Souls, Obadiah Sedgwick. You'll, you'll love it  [00:20:49] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:20:49] Physical Therapy Spiritual Practice [00:20:49] Tony Arsenal: So two thoughts. Uh, one, uh, I can confirm Jesse has a weak butt, um, flat as a board. So it's probably, probably better after, after doing some squats. Wow. Uh, two- Wow. ... uh, I can say I also am in some physical therapy right now, and I've been a little bit of a slacker. And what I will contribute to the conversation is just like in physical therapy, they can give you all of the exercises- Yeah uh, that you want. If you don't do the work, you're not going to get better. Yeah. And so whether it's Jesse doing squats or me not finding time to stretch and to do some, like, arm exercises with a, with a s- uh, like a TheraBand, uh, the same holds true. And, and maybe to unify our, uh, affir- our denials/affirmations into one mega, mega recommendation, um, the same holds true in that, one, we can take a book like this from, uh, Sedgwick, and we can turn it into the same thing we do with media where we're just... it's just devouring our blinks. Right. And we're just using it as a way to sort of, like, feed our eye hole Get better. You won't improve. Um, and that's actually the same with scripture. Like y-you can- Right ... turn scripture into, uh, into a snack food that you, you don't actually use to be nutritious. Um, I think there's probably more benefit to reading scripture sort of rote and, and almost mechanically than there is to reading anything else. But, um, but at the end of the day, you can also consume your blinks with scripture and not get a lot out of it if all you're doing is passing your eyes over text. So get in there. I think that's great. I haven't read that one. I mean, I think there's... I think there are probably many, I can't think of one off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are many, many Puritan treaties that- treatises that are similar in theme and tone and have the same kind of like spiritual antidote or spiritual medicine, um, prescribed by these guys that is good and wholesome. And again, like, like you're saying, like it's not that complicated. It's not that hard. Right. It just takes- Right ... you just actually have to do the work. Um, it's funny, my physical therapy thing is my, my shoulder has been really ba- really messed up, and I went in, I expected him to give me all these, all these shoulder exercises, and he's like, "Uh Really what you need to do is you fix your neck, uh, 'cause your shoulder is, is being in- injured because you're sleeping- Okay on that side because you're trying to stay off the other side. So, like, you really gotta fix your neck so you can sleep on the other side of your body. And I was like, "So I'm just, like, sleeping wrong?" Like, it's funny, there's a joke, it's like in your 20s you can do anything you want, in your 30s, like, you gotta be a little bit careful, and in your 40s, like, you hurt yourself just sleeping. Right. Just getting out of bed is dangerous.  [00:23:46] Jesse Schwamb: It's  [00:23:46] Tony Arsenal: true.  [00:23:47] Jesse Schwamb: It's true. So. It's a tough world. But  [00:23:48] Tony Arsenal: it's true. I feel like a really old man saying that.  [00:23:51] Read Matthew 25 Aloud [00:23:51] Jesse Schwamb: You know, it strikes me that you're right, of course, that there's so much here we always have to put into practice. There's so much here that we have to trust with God. There's a faith that works. And so I think actually that is the most lovely inroad into this final passage of Matthew, because there's a lot here for us to talk about with all of those things, and to understand it in this proper context. So as you've already set us up, Tony, the best part of our podcast is the scripture, for sure, 100%. So let's go there. So we're in Matthew 25 in case you're just joining us. And for some reason I went into, like, a full radio mode, as if this, like, this is being broadcast live, and you just came into the program. We're in Matthew 25, uh, starting in verse 31, and I'm gonna read until the end of the chapter. There's so much here that of course we're not gonna get to all of it, but in the spirit of literally having the full context of the scripture in front of us, and to hear it all, I think it's important. It w- b- better yet, you should go back and read the entire chapter and then tune in right now. But let me start at verse 31. "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in, naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me.  [00:25:32] Judgment Scene Read [00:25:32] Jesse Schwamb: I was in prison, and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?" And the King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me." Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angers-- angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they will themselves also answer saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer them saying, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life  [00:26:47] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:26:49] Parable Not Fear [00:26:49] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, it's, it's, um, it's a sobering passage. And just as I think we've seen in a lot of the other parables, um These eschatological parables and these eschatological sayings of Christ, uh, as you kind of alluded to earlier, I, I think they are really, really, um... They are not prone to being misinterpreted. Right. The church has been prone to misinterpreting and misapplying these, um, in a, in a way that's used to make, make the Christian fearful and to, uh, undermine their assurance rather than to call them to action or to accountability.  [00:27:33] Why It's A Parable [00:27:33] Tony Arsenal: Um, and I think a- as I've been reading through this and I've been sort of glancing at the Greek as we're reading, I actually think I'm on... I, I stumbled on much more better ground to treat this as a parable than I even originally thought I did. You know, I, I had this whole lead-up that this isn't technically a parable, but when you read here, when it says, in verse 31, it says, "When the Son of Man comes in glory and the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates- Right ... the sheep from the goats." If you go back to verse 14, when it says, "For it will be like a man," uh, that, that first word of verse 14 in the Greek is the same word as is used when it says, um, uh, "He separates people one from another as a shepherd." That same word is used as there, it's just translated differently because of where it comes in the, um, in the text. So Christ is still making this comparison, so it would be as though he said, um, you know, like the common, most common, at least so far, most common kind of parabolic introduction is like, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like." Um, this is the same basic language he's using here to introduce what the eschaton will be like. Right? The ga- the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them. It says people in the ESV, but will separate them one from another. You could also say the, the nations or the peoples will be gathered before him. Right. He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep. So the parable here is the s- the shepherd separating the sheep from the goats, this whole process of the separation and this, this, um, frankly, like it's, it feels and smells like a parable, right? It does. This, this, um, figure, this shepherd in the parable or the shepherd in the saying is saying these sort of like parabolic statements. He's using this language that's kind of like shocking punchline statement. Like we've talked about how in parables there's often this sort of unexpected turn of events, or there's this unexpected kind of shocking language, and this whole like twist at the end in both, sort of both s- chunks here, where like the sheep don't really understand, like they didn't really recognize that they were doing sheepy things, and the goats didn't really understand that they were being goats. That's like the parabolic twist or the parabolic punchline here. So the, the kingdom of heaven is like, basically it's like the Son of Man will come in his glory and it will be like this. It will be like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. That's the parabolic connection here. Mm-hmm. So I actually think that, that linguistically we're on, we're on pretty solid ground not just to treat this as a summary of all the parables, um- I think of for sure these three parables, but it, it really is like the master parable, and I think probably the master parable that kinda governs and constrains and explains all of the parabolic ministry of Christ. So I'm, I'm stoked for us to really dig into the details a little bit, but I think linguistically we're on super good ground to, to treat this as a parable. I agree. At the very least, it's stronger than just parable adjacent.  [00:30:44] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:30:44] Tony Arsenal: It- but even if we aren't saying it's a parable proper, it's stronger than that. It still is using this kinda comparative ministry, comparative language that Christ has used throughout the parabolic, um, sayings of Christ.  [00:30:57] Jesse Schwamb: The construction seems a little bit less veiled because here we have Jesus implanting himself directly into the account.  [00:31:03] Tony Arsenal: Mm-hmm.  [00:31:04] Shepherd Imagery Stakes [00:31:04] Jesse Schwamb: At the same time, though, he's drawing on all the things you just said he does, especially with this allusion to shepherding, which would've been, of course, common throughout. So it seems to me a lovely bridge to all of the overt parables he's just told, but now he's bringing them all together and placing himself clearly as, like, the interpreter, as the identifier of all the things, as the one to seal up all of the edges, as it were. So it's clear that this is about the end times. All of these were all about the end times and about Jesus' role in them. And so of course here he identifies himself as the eschatological judge just to make it clear. He's the one who sits on his glorious throne, and that's significant, and that's why I think we sometimes feel like, well, this is not a parable because he's, he's being very, like, Christologically certain and direct here. You know, throughout scripture the final judgment is God's prerogative alone, but the Father has committed all that judgment to the Son, and here's Jesus affirming that. And so again, like Reformed theology, in all our conversations we've consistently emphasized that this text is in many ways, like, proof of Christ's full deity and his role as mediatorial king, and he's exercising his office as the judge at his return in glory. And though, like you said, at the same time, here's the cool parable kind of scent or flavor is you get all these nations, every person who has ever lived, not merely Israel or merely the church. And how does Jesus describe this? He goes back into parabolic language. And we got the shepherd imagery that- Yeah is, like, similar to Ezekiel 34 where God himself is judging between the sheep of his flock. And that separation, the shockingness of it, it's immediate, it's binary. There's no third category. There's only two eternal destinies. There's no purgatory, no middle ground, no post-mortem opportunity for repentance. So all that's at stake. And then again, the beauty of the language itself or the setup of the construction of the story as it unfolds is that both groups- Get the same speech with a change in do or do not, but they both ask the same question from, like, wildly different perspectives and standings. And that's the beautiful- Yeah thing to make reconciliation over is what does all this mean then? How is all this established and how is this final judgment come to be such that there are sheep and goats if, in fact, they're both doing the same things theoretically, or they're at least both asking the same questions of, well, when did this ever actually occur? That, that's what's for us to unpack either way.  [00:33:29] All Nations Gathered [00:33:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and b- before we jump into, um, into the parable itself and start to unpack that, the other element that I think is worth, uh, and this just came to me so hopefully I'm not on too far of a, of a limb here. But the other element that I think is worth at least commenting on, um, we've, we've remarked, especially in these last three eschatological, um, parables, how much these are directed at the religious leaders, right? Right. The, the, the people are, um, the, the- the parables are told, um, in the context and sort of following up on these, this real directed, um, assault against the religious leaders who thought they were the ones, right? They're the ones that have a claim to the Kingdom of Heaven, they're the ones that, um, are the, you know, they're the ones that think they're doing the right thing, they're the ones that are ushering in God's kingdom. This little phrase here, "gathered all the nations," would also have really stuck in the craw of the religious leaders, right? Because the word for nations that's translated here is the same word that would el- elsewhere get translated as Gentiles, right? And the word people, when it says, "He will separate the people," that, that word people doesn't actually exist in the Greek. So if you translate this very literally, it'd say, "Before him will, will be gathered all nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Now, I don't wanna go the route of saying, like, this is a parable about, like, which pe- people group will be brought into the kingdom and which won't, and I've read some that go that direction. I don't wanna go there. But this idea that, like, even in the final judgment, the people who are in view here are the Gentiles, right? Right. I think most Jewish, particularly the, the Pharisees and the Sadducees hearing this, would've, would've read this and would've read ta ethnos, and would not have thought nations the way we do. Certainly would not have thought of, like, modern nation states. They might have been thinking maybe, like, people groups in general, but they would be thinking more along the lines of, like, Psalm, Psalm 2, like, "Why do the nations rage?" kind of nations. Why do the Gentiles rage? Why do the peoples plot in vain? They would've been thinking th- this, this, uh, judgment almost, at least on the face of it, almost excludes the Jews entirely when you think about it this way. It's really now sort of, like, zooming out where at the very least, at the minimal least, the Jews are just another people group within this broader judgment of the people group. Right. So again, like, we've seen this theme that Christ is continually expanding the scope of what is considered to be the Kingdom of Heaven to include not just the Jewish people, um, but all nations, all people groups, all Gentiles and Jews alike. And in a very real sense, um, and I wanna be careful how I've said this, I know I've commented this in the past, there's a very real sense of anti-Semitism that is prominent in- reform, quote-unquote reformed circles right now that is just vile and disgusting and sinful, and has no place in any sort of Biblical Christianity. But there is a reality that the Jewish people, broadly speaking, um, rejected the Messiah, at least while he was here on Earth. Um, relatively speaking, very few Jewish people, especially in the Jewish elite, like the leadership class, accepted Christ for who he was while he was here. Many Jews came to faith through the ministry of Peter, uh, and, and even through the ministry of Paul, even though he was an apostle to the Gentiles. So it's not as though it remained the case, but at this point in Christ's ministry, the Jewish people were by and large were rejecting him as Messiah. And so this idea and, and sort of this like final culmination now saying like he gathered all the, all the Gentiles, all of the peoples, all of the nations. In Jewish, in Jewish language and, and when you look in the Old Testament, and even in some of the New Testament literature, the nations were those people out there. So even if we don't translate this as Gentiles, we don't, we don't take that more like restrictive sense, even then it still implies that Christ is talking about people out there, the non-Jewish nations- Right are being gathered before his throne. And so that's not to say, absolutely not to say that the Jewish people, that, that the Jewish people of his day or the, the... This is where it gets tricky too, 'cause like we think about modern Israel and we, we import our understandings of like nation states. That's not what was in view here. The, the idea of a modern nation state was not a concept that existed in the first century. Um, you might have something like city states, but even that is kind of like a little bit ethereal. The idea here is that all people groups, and maybe, maybe we conceptualize Israel now as one of these people groups, the Israeli Jewish people as one of these people groups. All of those people groups, Jews, Gentiles, Scythians, Athenians, Spartans, like, uh, Ethiopians, you know, all of these different people- Right ... groups that are mentioned in the, the New Testament, all of those peoples, all of those nations are gathered before the throne, and then he will separate them one from another in the same way that a shepherd sep- separates the goats. [00:38:35] Group Judgment Assurance [00:38:35] Tony Arsenal: And yes, I think there is an individualistic, um, judgment element, and this is where I think, um... And, and then I'll, I'll pause for a second. This is where I think we can go wrong reading this as a parable about the individual judgment of individuals in the future That's not really what the language here is supporting. This is supporting sort of a broader group-based judgment, and the grouping is there are those who are sheep and there are those who are goats. But it doesn't appear as though Christ is saying like, "I'm evaluating each individual person, and this person is a sheep, this person is a goat." It's, it's a broader picture that, yes, has some implications for individual personal judgment, but when we read too much of that individual personal judgment into this parable that doesn't seem to be there, that's where we start to, like, rob individual Christians of their assurance. We start to say, like, "Did you do enough? Did you feed enough poor people or did you not?" That's not really, not really what's at stake here, I don't think.  [00:39:40] Jesse Schwamb: No, it's definitely not. It's, it's important to remember just the beauty of, like, the consistent theological thread that runs all the way through the Old Testament, and then that we might expect, of course, to be manifest in Christ's teachings, which happen exactly here. So he is going all the way back to that covenantal promise seed through Abraham, single seed, many people groups, many ethnicities. In this way, the gospel is ethnic inclusive. And so it is, why wouldn't he say that in this way to express that this is exactly from all time what God wanted to do is gather all people groups to himself? Which means then by the time we get to the end of this chapter in verse 46, and there is this righteousness that... or the righteous that lead or go into eternal life, then of course we're led to believe here either directly or implicitly that that means that there would be some for whom the Pharisees would find it's, like, anathema to receive that kind of righteousness and eternal life are the ones in fact who are getting it. And so even that is scandalous. So the, the whole thing is very much a setup, and I think it's the confusion again of this is Jesus saying again to the Sadducees, like, "You are confused. You do not know the power of God. You, you search for it everywhere else but do not find it in front of you. It, it's he who speak to you. I am he. You think you search the scriptures, but you do not know." Everywhere it feels like he's saying that, and here also he's saying that again, but it's in the setup. And I'm with you. I think that there would've been a lot here that would've, like, just come right off his lips that would've been like, "Say what?" Uh, that would've been, like, offensive right off- Yeah ... the top.  [00:41:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:41:17] Sovereign Separation [00:41:17] Tony Arsenal: And the other, the other theme that plays out really loud and clear here, um, as we start to dig into this is, um, there's a sovereignty to this separation that is baked into, um, the king's right to decide who to keep and who to cast away. Right. So I think we, we, um, understandably read into this an assessment of the productivity or the profitability or somehow the, like, merit or worth of the sheep as contrasted to the worth of the goats. Um, and we read into it like the sheep have utility and the goats don't, so the goats get cast into the- Right outer darkness. That's not really, that's not really what's going on here, right? In a, in an agrarian society, like sheep and goats both have utility. It's not as though, like, sheep are worthless and goats aren't. There's a reason people have goats. Um, th- the, the issue here is that the king has decided that there are those on his right and there are those on his left, and the ones on his right he's gonna keep, and the ones on his left he's gonna cast away. And, and so, um, there's this sovereign election and determination that precedes the rest of this, right? It's not as though he's ... And this is where the personal, sort of personal assessment part comes in. He doesn't look at a person and go, "All right, you did a g- enough good works to qualify as a sheep, so you go ahead and go over-" Right and be a sheep. And you didn't do quite enough, so you're actually a goat, so you go over and you be a goat." He looks at, he says, "Y- sheep, goat. Goat, sheep." You know, he, he's separating them out, and then he describes what sheep do versus what goats do. And I, I, like I'm even drawing some of this language out. The sheep goats part of this is actually only, like, a verse and a half. He then flips out of this parabolic language to now go back to the sort of strictly predictive eschatological ex- like explanatory language. So this is what it's like when the Son of Man is on, on his kingdom. He separates sheep and goats. We read into, and maybe with some good reason, but we read into Uh, we read into the fact that the sheeps go to one side, the goats go to another. Then we sort of like attribute the characteristics of those who go to his right to sheep, and we attribute the characteristics... And I think we do this the wrong way. How many sermons have you heard where the whole sermon is about how sheep are obedient, and they're, they're affable, and they listen, and they, they, they are sweet and kind, and goats are stubborn, and they, they just wreck everything, and they don't listen, right? And how many s- how many sermons have you heard where they talk about, like, well, sheep and goats really look the same in the Middle Eastern context, and the only way you can tell them apart is what, by what they do? I think there's probably some, uh, benefit to thinking through those elements, but Christ does not make that point in this parable- Mm ... at least not directly, right? He said, "This is the activity. Imagine a man who has sheep and he has goats. He takes the sheep, he puts them on one side. He takes the goats on another side." That's what the separation at the end of the time, at the end of time will be like. Then he goes straight back out of the parable language into saying, "This is how the king will actually make the distinction.  [00:44:29] Predestination Before Works [00:44:29] Tony Arsenal: The ones on his left, or on his right, he will say, 'Come, you're blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'" Right? This is predestination language, not eschatological judgment language. The sheep were guaranteed a kingdom from before the foundation of the world. Before they did anything bad or didn't do anything good, they were guaranteed a kingdom from before the foundation of the world. Then he says, he explains to them, like the context that, as you said before, that reveals that they were sheep all along. [00:45:02] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:45:02] Tony Arsenal: It shows them that they were already... Man, I just, just made this connection in my head. This is the parable of the wheat and of the tares- Yep ... coming to fruition- Exactly ... at the end of time. Right. Right? The sheep and the goats were allowed to mingle until the time came when they would be separated, just as the wheat and the tares were allowed to grow up until the time when they would be reaped and separated. This is what's going on. The sheep did things that sheep do. Those on the right did the things that the people on the right would do because they were part of God's blessed kingdom all along.  [00:45:34] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:45:35] Tony Arsenal: And then he goes on to explain what the people on the left did not do, not because now they've been put on the left because they didn't do it, but they were shown to have always been a part of that, part of that population. They were always goats because of these things. This shows that they were goats all along, and they did these things or failed to do these things because they were goats all along.  [00:45:58] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:45:59] Works Righteousness Trap [00:45:59] Jesse Schwamb: Let me read another verse. "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children and also our brethren to believe in Christ and to be reconciled to God. For we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do." My guess is everybody was with me- ... sounded kind of okay until that last part. And if you had that, like, as we say, like, that theological muscle memory that just made you flex or bristle there, or you had the Spidey Sense, as you say, Tony, good, because that's from 2 Nephi 25:23 from the Book of Mormon. And here's what I wanna say that's shocking, is if we read this passage of scripture that we're talking about as if there's something there that we need to do that proves that we've done enough and that somehow God will be pleased with that, even at the end of time in some small way, some modicum, then we're actually acting way more like Mormons than we are like Christians. That's just the bottom line. Yeah. Because Mormons, if you ask about this verse, rather than try to qualify that last statement by saying, "Well, that's misunderstood," or, "It's really not after all you can do," because of course it begs the question how do you know that you've done enough? How you don't- you've done all the things and that you're, you're exhausted. Their explanation of this is to double down on it and say, "Well, the context of that verse is following verse 23 actually does emphasize salvation only coming through Christ, but it also encourages continued observance of the law of Moses in order to be reconciled to God." Because that's all they could do until Christ fulfilled the law through his atonement. Even that is nonsense. So all of this to say, we have to be careful with this because I, I think you're right. We're aligning, we're running right up on this, and that is I would submit to you that we just get distracted because we always, of course, want to bring something to the party here. The, the salvation cake. We wanna, I don't know, we wanna make it, we wanna do. But God is doing all the things on our behalf. And so as a result of that, I think this parable is actually, it's about the divine prerogative and the agency of Christ in judgment at the end which belongs to him and him alone, and not about these actions. But we get caught up in the actions and we're missing this thri- divine prerogative. I also think that Christ gives this to us to reverse it on us and to show us that he sets about all things. It is in fact his foreordination and his providence. By grace we have been saved through faith, and that in providence being predestined is an act of his great love. And so this shows the extent of that love because those whom he has chosen himself are asking in disbelief as if to say, "When did I do the good works that you required?" And he said, "Well, you didn't because you could never do them apart from me."  [00:48:38] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:48:38] Jesse Schwamb: And so really that's the whole point. It's just so easy for us to get it twisted and say, "Well, doesn't it make sense that there are two groups?" Well, certainly there are in this passage. And doesn't it make good sense that because he said they did things or they didn't do things, then I just need to be about doing those things. And I think that is unfortunately the adventure in missing the point in this passage.  [00:48:58] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I, I agree 100%. And it's funny 'cause you were reading that and I was like What translation of J- of First John is it? It sound, I mean, it sounds like, it sounds like something you'd read in First John It sounds okay  [00:49:09] Jesse Schwamb: until  [00:49:10] Tony Arsenal: the end. Yeah. No, I mean, like, it literally sounds like First John until- Yeah ... you get to that last part.  [00:49:14] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:49:15] Tony Arsenal: And, and I think you're right that, um, we'll, we'll explore this more next week, but what has always struck me about this passage is that the, the p- the, the people on His right, I've gotta stop saying sheep, because that's... I just made the point that that's not really what's going on. The people on His right who are called into the kingdom because it was prepared for them before the foundation, because they were elected unto that kingdom. The people on His right, they're surprised at the fact that they did these things. And it, I, I think the works righteousness way of reading this is like, "You better earn your salvation. You better get at it because if you haven't fed Jesus in disguise, then you just aren't gonna make it. At the end of the day- Mm ... He's gonna say, 'I never knew you.'" And it, whether intentionally or unintentionally, sometimes I think intentionally, it implies that we, uh, that Jesus comes to know us because we've done good works, right? When we say, "If you don't do these things, then Jesus will say, 'I never knew you,'" then what you're saying is Jesus doesn't know you apart from your good works. Right. And what the Bible says, what this passage says, just right on the face of it, is that the Kingdom of Heaven was prepared for those whom Christ has elected before the foundation of the world, or who the Father has elected, who are blessed by the Father before the foundation of the world. Now, obviously the Father had to know those people in some sense-  [00:50:43] Jesse Schwamb: That's  [00:50:43] Tony Arsenal: right ... before the foundation of the world in order for them to be blessed by Him and for Him to prepare a kingdom. So then to come back to the end of it and say, "Well, there are some of those, uh, who the Father never knew because they didn't do enough work," well, the problem is that those who did the good work, the Father knew before they did the good works. They didn't merit the good works. I mean- Right ... it's funny you, you bring up the, the Mormons, and that's certainly true, but, like, you could substitute in, at least on this regard, right? There are meaningful, important differences between the groups I'm about to say and Mormons, that would be the dividing line between those who are possibly saved and those who are y- definitely not saved, right? You could substitute Arminians, who wanna say God looks down the corridor of time, and the reason He prepared a kingdom in advance for them from the foundation of the world is 'cause He saw that they would do these things that would merit salvation, or He saw that they would make the proper decision to receive His grace, right? Or Roman Catholics or Eastern Orthodoxes in a different sense, but similarly who would say like, "Well, yeah, God knows in advance that you're gonna merit salvation, so He prepared- Right ... this kingdom anticipating your merit that you would contribute or your participation or, or whatever." I think in a certain sense, um, you could even apply this to some Lutheran theology, right? Which would say, like, "Well, God prepared this kingdom for you from the foundation of the world because he looked down the corridor of time and he understood that you were not going to resist the grace he gave," right? You were not gonna reject his grace. Um, it really truly only is Reformed theology that can say, "No, God prepared this kingdom in advance for you, and it was the preparation of that kingdom that brought you through this such that you did the good works that you did, such that you made the wise decision to follow Christ that you did. That is caused by the fact that God prepared a kingdom for you in advance, not that you somehow caused this kingdom to be prepared for you." A- and aga- again, again, like, this is dicey. It gets into, like, logical ordering, but fundamentally, a- as far as I can understand it, every competing view besides sort of a Calvinistic understanding of predestination election has to say that in some sense God prepares the kingdom for you as a response to something you have done, or chose- Right to do or chose not to do. The reality is that this passage is saying, "No To those who are on the right. He didn't separate them based on the fact that they did these things. He just said, "You are on the right, and now to those who are on the right, I say to you, come into the kingdom that is blessed. You're blessed by my Father. Come into this kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world." So I think, you know, we're c

The Sheep & The Goats

The Sheep & The Goats

Worship - September 7, 2025“The Parable of The Sheep and the Goats” - Matthew 25:31-46Associate Pastor Eric Beckman

Welcome to the Grace in Focus podcast. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates are discussing another parable in the Olivet Discourse. Or is it actually a parable? This one is about the “Sheep” and the “Goats.” They are the Tribulation survivors, but whom do the sheep and the goats represent? Why are they being separated?

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46 Key Takeaways: + The Identity Jesus Claims Daniel 7:13-14 Acts 17:30-31 "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God? That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. "The sane man does not believe that he is God; the sane man does not believe that he will rise from the dead. If Jesus said those things, He was either speaking the truth, or He was insane." – G. K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man. + The Judgment Jesus Delivers + The Criteria by which Jesus Judges John 10:14–15 Matthew 10:40–42 1 Corinthians 4:9–13  Galatians 6:10 1 John 3:14 1 John 3:16–18 3 John 5–8

In his final words on the topic, Jesus describes the attributes and eternal destiny of believers, the sheep, and unbelievers, the goats. Pastor Micah preaches at King's Cross Church.

The Parable of The Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25)

Title: Jesus Is the Gate of the SheepMain Text: John 10:1-10Key Points:Jesus as the GateJesus declares, “I am the gate for the sheep.” (John 10:7-9)Through Him, we find salvation, security, and provision—rest for our souls.He is the only way to God, emphasizing the exclusivity of the gospel.The Sheep Pen & Its MeaningA place of safety and rest at night before going back out in the morning.Only those who enter through Jesus experience true rest and belonging.Beware of Thieves & RobbersFalse teachers, false gospels, and spiritual deception seek to lead people astray (John 10:1, 8).Common false teachings:Salvation by works (earning God's favor)Self-help gospel (human effort over grace)Prosperity gospel (blessings over true faith)Political gospel (misplacing our hope in human systems)Churchless gospel (isolating faith from the body of Christ)The Call to HumilityEntering through the gate requires humility—recognizing our need for Jesus.Illustration: The Door of Humility at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem—small enough that visitors must bow to enter, symbolizing the humility required to follow Christ.Sheep vs. Goats (Matthew 25:33)Jesus calls people out of false systems and into the true fold—His Church.Philippians 2:1-11 reminds us that Christ humbled Himself for our salvation.Final Challenge: Will you choose humility, step through the gate, and follow Jesus?

Mar 23, 2025 Sermon By Thomas Hamilton Kingdom Logic: Groom, Gold and Goats Matthew 25

This passage has often been misused because of how one phrase has been neglected. What is Jesus really teaching here? You can watch this message here.

Pastor Margaret Ferguson - Resurrection Chattanooga - 11/17/2024 At Resurrection, we are cultivating a community of people who, through grace and practice, are learning from Jesus how to live. We desire to be a home for the prodigal, an authentic people — humble, generous, and unified.

Jesus will judge his church based on their faith expressed in how they treated the least of these His Brothers. He will sort out the scoffers from the wise and faithful.Trinity 26 Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dan-greg/support

A "sermonic examination" as to whether those of us who claim to be believers and followers of Jesus are sheep or goats and what's the difference. (New Hope | Sept. 15, 2024) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kengrace/support

This is Andy Croft looking at Matthew 25: 31-46 from our 10am service on Sunday 27 October 2024. This is part of our series looking at the "Stories of the Kingdom".

Storyteller: Week Eight - The One About the Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25:31-46 Pastor Christopher Ek Listen this week as we take a close look at another of Jesus' parables. Jesus' teaching on the sheep and the goats is a parable of high challenge and high calling as we follow Jesus each day. www.bethanycovenant.com 

More teaching and outlines available at https://renewbiblechurch.com/ 

Baptism= acknowledgment that we are sinners and that our only hope is Jesus! Remember this as we look at our passage of scripture for today. John 5:25-29 Truly, truly I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For the Father has life in Himself, and so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and He has given Him authority to execute judgement, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this. For an hour is coming when all who ae in the tombs will hear His voice and come out. Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life. And those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement. In this passage two different judgments are being rendered: Judgement 1 (John 5:25) “Those who are dead and hear the voice of the Son of God will live!” This judgement is occurring even today… right now! WE are DEAD in sin, and are given new life when we receive the truth of the gospel.Judgement 2- (John 5:28-29) This is a future judgement… the final judgment. Those who do “good” will not be judge. Those who do evil… WILL!Jesus is NOT talking about “work's righteousness”! Remember what baptism means: we are all sinners. Our only HOPE is Christ! The “good” Jesus is referring too here, is the hearing and receiving of the gospel. The “bad” is NOT hearing and receiving…Remember the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) One group did indeed, do “good” things, while the other did not. But “why”? The group who did “good”, did it out of gratitude, knowing that their HOPE was not in themselves, but in the goodness of the King Message: Two JudgementsScripture: John 5:25-29  

On this episode of the Curt Landry Podcast, Rabbi Curt and Darrell Puckett break down the principle of humanitarian aid and what the Bible says about it, specifically Jesus' own words in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25). Rabbi shares critical insights into this parable, a key detail many in the church have missed–Jesus' brethren are the Jewish people. What we do unto Israel, we do unto Him. From 33 years of experience, Rabbi Curt shares the principles and heart posture behind the Spirit-filled humanitarian aid Curt Landry Ministries provides globally–and how this aid opens doors for people to experience the power of God's love, salvation, and healing in their lives.

"Sheep and Goats" – Matthew 25:31-45 Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, November 26, 2023.

11/26/2023 - Matthew 25:31-46 - Pastor Ernie Jeong Sermon Video https://youtu.be/UIMlsFQ9Dm4 Full Worship Service https://youtu.be/r2p_JpYvh8M Announcements https://youtu.be/kYllItDQslI Children's Message (Video) https://youtu.be/ZG9HJ2Y19gg ~~ Recent Videos: https://www.faithmoorpark.com/recent ~~ Prayer Requests: https://www.faithmoorpark.com/prayers ~~ Visit our web site to learn more about Faith Lutheran Church. Watch View past worship services, sermons, bible studies, and devotions. https://www.faithmoorpark.com/ ~~ Support Faith Lutheran Church: Online Giving: https://www.faithmoorpark.com/giving ~~ Faith Lutheran Church is part of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod (LCMS) located in Moorpark, California.

The Bible makes clear that those who know Jesus will follow Jesus. The two are inextricably linked, yet we have a tendency to try and separate them. While works are not the cause of our salvation, they are evidence that we've received it. You can't work your way into the Kingdom of Heaven, but after you enter through Jesus, work with all your might! As Jesus said, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4) Take Home Message: To know Jesus is to follow Jesus. King Jesus requires…A personal relationship (31-33).An evident faith (34-40).A permanent judgment (41-46). The Sheep and the Goats: Matthew 25:31-46 Simple. Authentic. Jesus. Prairiebible.org

April 22, 2023 - Equipped Workshop Day 3 10:00AM MPR 2 Speaker    Tyler Averson challenges us to change our views on helping others. Looking at the book of James, Tyler shows how we should think about and approach helping others.   Slides: It's all about me Help Me Serve (James 1-2) 1 Corinthians 9:19 - For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to server, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Help Me Serve Ask God for Wisdom - (1:5-8) Illustration of  a hot Burner on a stove If mama ain't happy Ain't nobody happy Illustration of cheating on a test Imitate God's Giving - (1:17) Be doers of the WORD - (1:22) Help the helpless - (1:27) "God helps those who help themselves" Refuse to show partiality - (2:1) Love your neighbor as yourself - (2:8) Leviticus 19:18 - You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Matthew 22:39 - And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Live in view of judgment - (2:12) The Sheep and the Goats - Matthew 25:31-46 Show Mercy - (2:13) Show your faith by your works - (2:18) Duration 33:09

This week BibleWorm reads Matthew 25:31-46, which feels like a culminating text for our weeks studying parables. The text seems to locate us in the future, at the time of the final judgment – but it's not just a different place on the timeline. The nature of the cosmos has shifted, and maybe something in the nature of Jesus, too, after the resurrection. All of the overlapping groups that have been present in the parables – the wheat and the weeds, if you will - will be sorted into two distinct fates. On a quick read, the grounds for this sorting may not seem too high a bar - we must offer generous, loving care for the bodies and spirits and the dignity of our co-travellers on this earth. But how do we keep this care from becoming primarily an act of self-interest, given the presence of those hell fires - would that kind of motivation ruin it? And wait, did this text just say that we need to do this in every single instance, without exception? The words of this text may feel familiar to you, but boy are they a radical reorientation.

Christ the King: The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25:31-46 March 5, 2023 Pastor Scott Wade

Christ the King: The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25:31-46 March 5, 2023 Pastor Scott Wade

What of the Gentiles? The Tribulation period brings the times of the Gentiles to an end. Will there be any Gentiles saved during the Tribulation? Will any Gentiles be welcomed into God's Kingdom? Before closing His sermon, Jesus provides one last parable, The Sheep and the Goats, in Matthew 25:31-46. In this parable, Jesus reveals the eternal destiny of the Gentiles.

Watch the video of this podcast instead on my YouTube channel?? (link below): https://youtube.com/live/XTA9zS_nwLk Subscribe to my YouTube channel (link below)(i.e. "Uplift Past Crossroads") https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuv53Xdk-97UcS_gSvsS76A Subscribe | Turn On Post Notification | Like | Comment | Share PayPal = https://www.paypal.me/upliftpastcrossroads Cash App = cash.app/$troubledontlast Venmo = @troubledontlast FOLLOW MY SOCIALS: 1. YouTube channel/podcast: Uplift Past Crossroads 2. Facebook, LinkedIn: Sean Christopher Jenkins 3. Instagram, Twitter, Snap, TikTok: troubledontlast 4. Tumblr: troubledontlast1 CHECK OUT THESE PLAYLISTS FROM MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR MORE: View this playlist to listen to all of the bible studies, sermons, lessons, animations, etc. I have done on the book of "Revelations": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUAoLj8IP4eGENF0ms5IpH8t "Revelation 22" playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUC3460dVQQliZLWSR8g7kQt View this playlist to see to all of the bible studies, sermons, lessons, animations, etc. I have done on these topics "The Rapture/Left Behind": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUCysdajOF-yr9LqATghl33u View this playlist to see to all of the bible studies, sermons, lessons, animations, etc. I have done on these topics "Like In The Days of Noah/For The Son of Man Will Come In An Hour When You Do Not Expect Him (Matthew 24:37-39,44)": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUCRtJvFKjT0PUG77ZEh4v1y View this playlist to see to all of the bible studies, sermons, lessons, animations, etc. I have done on these topics "Enmity With God/Enemy of God/Friendship With The World": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUAqR_BAVcULh3MhDJazgiUc View this playlist to see to all of the bible studies, sermons, lessons, animations, etc. I have done on these topics "Know Jesus/Knowing Jesus/Know The LORD": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUA_GbDe6_n5Hh29qLyQdEu6 View this playlist to see to all of the bible studies, sermons, lessons, animations, etc. I have done on this topic "The Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUCPDK0WjTiFEJ4brDNmR7l1 View this playlist to see to all of the bible studies, sermons, lessons, animations, etc. I have done on these topics "Come As You Are/Come To Jesus/Come Unto Me/Whosoever Will Come/Come Just As You Are": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5p69431nzUCp9KeFgo02iToqZnXekx-A --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upliftpastcrossroads/message

What is the Judgment of the Sheep & Goats; also referred to as the Judgment of the Nations. Is this a judgment unto salvation or hell based upon one's works? Is this a judgment against nations or countries? When does this judgment occur? All this, and more will be explained in my personal study of this passage.Check Out C4C Books:Investigating Lordship Salvation:https://www.amazon.com/Investigating-Lordship-Salvation-Response-Works-Based/dp/B09XZJD4RHA Biblical Sketch: Free Grace Theologyhttps://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Sketch-Theology-Understanding-Basics-ebook/dp/B0B4X8JMHG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=11WY6AK3UBPUC&keywords=weierbach&qid=1662478524&s=books&sprefix=weierbach%2Cstripbooks%2C78&sr=1-1C4C Apologetics Website:www.c4capologetics.comOpen Door Baptist Church:https://odbaptist.com/Financially Support C4C Apologetics Ministry:https://odbaptist.com/giveGrace Zone App:https://subsplash.com/gracezone/appDon't forget to check out our YouTube Channel!https://www.youtube.com/c/C4CApologetics/featured

Audio of a talk given by Sir Gary Streeter MP on 'The sheep and the goats' from Matthew 25:31-46 at a Christians in Parliament Chapel Service which was held in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft on Tuesday 29th November 2022.

In Matthew 25:31-46 we learn that Jesus is the judge of eternity.

In Matthew 25:31-46 we learn that Jesus is the judge of eternity.

All throughout the stories of Jesus, Jesus is traveling from place to place proclaiming, "Turn around because the Kingdom of Heaven is here!"  His whole message was built around this idea of "the Kingdom."  But what is the Kingdom?  What is it like?  Who gets to be in it?  How do I know if I'm in it?  We're going to be taking the bulk of the spring of 2022 to explore what Jesus teaches us on the Kingdom! 

Who was Jesus talking about when he spoke of "the least of these my brothers" and why does it matter?

Whether you are a believer or unbeliever makes a huge difference at your death, because the condition of each soul at death will determine its eternal destiny (Ecc 11:3). All mankind will be divided into 2 groups. There is a HEAVEN to gain and a HELL to shun! Before the Death and Resurrection of Christ, at death both believers and unbelievers went down to a place called ‘Hades' (Greek) or ‘Sheol' (Hebrew), a place under the earth for departed spirits, but the believers and unbelievers went to 2 different compartments of Hades (Luke 16:19-26). Jesus taught that by death you have made your final decision and your eternal destiny is then fixed forever. It will then too late to repent. At this point, the destinies of the righteous and unrighteous are sharply and permanently divided. In Old Testament times all went down to Hades when they died, even believers, because before Jesus died and rose again, bringing in the New Covenant, it was impossible for anyone to be born again, and so it was impossible for their spirits to go into Heaven. In this teaching we reveal the awesome difference that the New Birth makes, enabling us to go to Heaven when we die, because our spirits have been made perfect in Christ (Matt 16:18). The Old Testament saints did not go to Heaven when they died, for they had to wait for the New Covenant to be established by Christ's Death and Resurrection before they could be made perfect (born again) in spirit, and so be able to possess the promise of Heaven (Heb 11:10,16, 39-40). But now these O.T saints are in Heaven, because when Christ rose again this promise could be fulfilled and they were born again and made perfect in spirit (1Pet 4:6), and then taken up to Heaven (Eph 4:8). They are 'the spirits of just men made perfect' who are now in Heaven (Heb 12:22-24). So when believers die, we depart our bodies (2Cor 5:8, 2Tim 4:6, 2Pet 1:13-15), and we go to Heaven (2Cor 5:8, 12:2-4, Phil 1:21-24, Rev 6:9-11, 7:9-17, 14:13). Unbelievers die in a state of unrighteousness, and go down to Torments in Hades, the temporary place of punishment, because they died in their sins and have been found guilty, and now it is too late for them to repent (2Pet 2:9). They rejected the grace of God, the work of Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit. They must wait in this holding-cell in Hades until they are resurrected at the end of time and made to stand before the Great White Throne for their final Sentencing (Rev 20:11-12). Their degree of their rebellion against God will determine the degree of their punishment in the Lake of Fire. Then they will be sentenced and dismissed into their final place of punishment - the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:15). At present only their soul is under punishment, but when they are resurrected and thrown into the Lake of Fire, both their body and soul will be under punishment (Matt 10:28). So, Hades is an initial temporal place of punishment for the soul, but the Lake of Fire (Gehenna) is the final and everlasting place of punishment for the soul and the body. Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) confirms the everlasting punishment of the wicked (v41,46). God's Court-System of Eternal Judgment takes place in 2 Stages: *(1) Stage 1 happens right after his DEATH (Hebrews 9:27). This determines whether you are guilty or innocent, depending on if you are ‘in Christ' and so have received His righteousness, or if you are still ‘in your sins.' The righteous go up to Heaven, and the wicked go down to Hades, to wait for the 2nd Stage. *(2) Stage 2 happens right after his RESURRECTION. The Judge will determine the Degree of Reward for believers (according to their faithfulness), and the Degree of Punishment for unbelievers (according to their sin). There are only 2 possible eternal destinies for every person - either (1) a state and place of everlasting life and blessedness in God's Presence, for those who have received Christ as their Savior and Lord, or (2) a state and place of everlasting punishment, for those who have rejected Christ and His offer of Salvation. Every man's final destiny is fixed by God at the time of his death, so it is essential that we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and share the Gospel with the lost before it's too late.

Whether you are a believer or unbeliever makes a huge difference at your death, because the condition of each soul at death will determine its eternal destiny (Ecc 11:3). All mankind will be divided into 2 groups. There is a HEAVEN to gain and a HELL to shun! Before the Death and Resurrection of Christ, at death both believers and unbelievers went down to a place called ‘Hades' (Greek) or ‘Sheol' (Hebrew), a place under the earth for departed spirits, but the believers and unbelievers went to 2 different compartments of Hades (Luke 16:19-26). Jesus taught that by death you have made your final decision and your eternal destiny is then fixed forever. It will then too late to repent. At this point, the destinies of the righteous and unrighteous are sharply and permanently divided. In Old Testament times all went down to Hades when they died, even believers, because before Jesus died and rose again, bringing in the New Covenant, it was impossible for anyone to be born again, and so it was impossible for their spirits to go into Heaven. In this teaching we reveal the awesome difference that the New Birth makes, enabling us to go to Heaven when we die, because our spirits have been made perfect in Christ (Matt 16:18). The Old Testament saints did not go to Heaven when they died, for they had to wait for the New Covenant to be established by Christ's Death and Resurrection before they could be made perfect (born again) in spirit, and so be able to possess the promise of Heaven (Heb 11:10,16, 39-40). But now these O.T saints are in Heaven, because when Christ rose again this promise could be fulfilled and they were born again and made perfect in spirit (1Pet 4:6), and then taken up to Heaven (Eph 4:8). They are 'the spirits of just men made perfect' who are now in Heaven (Heb 12:22-24). So when believers die, we depart our bodies (2Cor 5:8, 2Tim 4:6, 2Pet 1:13-15), and we go to Heaven (2Cor 5:8, 12:2-4, Phil 1:21-24, Rev 6:9-11, 7:9-17, 14:13). Unbelievers die in a state of unrighteousness, and go down to Torments in Hades, the temporary place of punishment, because they died in their sins and have been found guilty, and now it is too late for them to repent (2Pet 2:9). They rejected the grace of God, the work of Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit. They must wait in this holding-cell in Hades until they are resurrected at the end of time and made to stand before the Great White Throne for their final Sentencing (Rev 20:11-12). Their degree of their rebellion against God will determine the degree of their punishment in the Lake of Fire. Then they will be sentenced and dismissed into their final place of punishment - the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:15). At present only their soul is under punishment, but when they are resurrected and thrown into the Lake of Fire, both their body and soul will be under punishment (Matt 10:28). So, Hades is an initial temporal place of punishment for the soul, but the Lake of Fire (Gehenna) is the final and everlasting place of punishment for the soul and the body. Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) confirms the everlasting punishment of the wicked (v41,46). God's Court-System of Eternal Judgment takes place in 2 Stages: *(1) Stage 1 happens right after his DEATH (Hebrews 9:27). This determines whether you are guilty or innocent, depending on if you are ‘in Christ' and so have received His righteousness, or if you are still ‘in your sins.' The righteous go up to Heaven, and the wicked go down to Hades, to wait for the 2nd Stage. *(2) Stage 2 happens right after his RESURRECTION. The Judge will determine the Degree of Reward for believers (according to their faithfulness), and the Degree of Punishment for unbelievers (according to their sin). There are only 2 possible eternal destinies for every person - either (1) a state and place of everlasting life and blessedness in God's Presence, for those who have received Christ as their Savior and Lord, or (2) a state and place of everlasting punishment, for those who have rejected Christ and His offer of Salvation. Every man's final destiny is fixed by God at the time of his death, so it is essential that we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and share the Gospel with the lost before it's too late.

Whether you are a believer or unbeliever makes a huge difference at your death, because the condition of each soul at death will determine its eternal destiny (Ecc 11:3). All mankind will be divided into 2 groups. There is a HEAVEN to gain and a HELL to shun! Before the Death and Resurrection of Christ, at death both believers and unbelievers went down to a place called ‘Hades' (Greek) or ‘Sheol' (Hebrew), a place under the earth for departed spirits, but the believers and unbelievers went to 2 different compartments of Hades (Luke 16:19-26). Jesus taught that by death you have made your final decision and your eternal destiny is then fixed forever. It will then too late to repent. At this point, the destinies of the righteous and unrighteous are sharply and permanently divided. In Old Testament times all went down to Hades when they died, even believers, because before Jesus died and rose again, bringing in the New Covenant, it was impossible for anyone to be born again, and so it was impossible for their spirits to go into Heaven. In this teaching we reveal the awesome difference that the New Birth makes, enabling us to go to Heaven when we die, because our spirits have been made perfect in Christ (Matt 16:18). The Old Testament saints did not go to Heaven when they died, for they had to wait for the New Covenant to be established by Christ's Death and Resurrection before they could be made perfect (born again) in spirit, and so be able to possess the promise of Heaven (Heb 11:10,16, 39-40). But now these O.T saints are in Heaven, because when Christ rose again this promise could be fulfilled and they were born again and made perfect in spirit (1Pet 4:6), and then taken up to Heaven (Eph 4:8). They are 'the spirits of just men made perfect' who are now in Heaven (Heb 12:22-24). So when believers die, we depart our bodies (2Cor 5:8, 2Tim 4:6, 2Pet 1:13-15), and we go to Heaven (2Cor 5:8, 12:2-4, Phil 1:21-24, Rev 6:9-11, 7:9-17, 14:13). Unbelievers die in a state of unrighteousness, and go down to Torments in Hades, the temporary place of punishment, because they died in their sins and have been found guilty, and now it is too late for them to repent (2Pet 2:9). They rejected the grace of God, the work of Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit. They must wait in this holding-cell in Hades until they are resurrected at the end of time and made to stand before the Great White Throne for their final Sentencing (Rev 20:11-12). Their degree of their rebellion against God will determine the degree of their punishment in the Lake of Fire. Then they will be sentenced and dismissed into their final place of punishment - the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:15). At present only their soul is under punishment, but when they are resurrected and thrown into the Lake of Fire, both their body and soul will be under punishment (Matt 10:28). So, Hades is an initial temporal place of punishment for the soul, but the Lake of Fire (Gehenna) is the final and everlasting place of punishment for the soul and the body. Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) confirms the everlasting punishment of the wicked (v41,46). God's Court-System of Eternal Judgment takes place in 2 Stages: *(1) Stage 1 happens right after his DEATH (Hebrews 9:27). This determines whether you are guilty or innocent, depending on if you are ‘in Christ' and so have received His righteousness, or if you are still ‘in your sins.' The righteous go up to Heaven, and the wicked go down to Hades, to wait for the 2nd Stage. *(2) Stage 2 happens right after his RESURRECTION. The Judge will determine the Degree of Reward for believers (according to their faithfulness), and the Degree of Punishment for unbelievers (according to their sin). There are only 2 possible eternal destinies for every person - either (1) a state and place of everlasting life and blessedness in God's Presence, for those who have received Christ as their Savior and Lord, or (2) a state and place of everlasting punishment, for those who have rejected Christ and His offer of Salvation. Every man's final destiny is fixed by God at the time of his death, so it is essential that we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and share the Gospel with the lost before it's too late.

Concern for the poor is woven throughout the entirety of the biblical narrative. It is absolutely unavoidable from the Old testament to the New.     OT Lev 19:10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.   Deuteronomy 15:7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. … 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'   Deut 27:19 “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”   Exodus 22:21 “You shall not wrong a foreigner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.   Prov 14:31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.   Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter . . . ? Isaiah 58:6 -7   What does Jesus have to say?   Luke 11:37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. 42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.   Luke 14:12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, …   Matthew 11:4-5 Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.    In the parable of the persistent widow from Luke 18 :1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.' 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don't fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually come and attack me!'” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”   Parable of the Sheep and Goats Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'   Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Some conclusions:   The great eighteenth-century hymn-writer and ex- slave trader John Newton marveled at the far-reaching implications of these words. “One would almost think that Luke 14:12-14 was not considered part of God's word,” he wrote, “nor has any part of Jesus's teaching been more neglected by his own people. I do not think it is unlawful to entertain our friends; but if these words do not teach us that it is in some respects our duty to give a preference to the poor, I am at a loss to understand them.”   What is Jesus's point, then, in these exhortations?  1. It must be at least this—that his believers should not see any of their money as their own, and they should be profoundly involved with and generous to the poor.   2. Justification and Justice are inextricably connected.   Jesus brother James writes:    James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.   James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.  …26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.   We are saved by faith alone. But not by faith that remains alone.  Justification will lead to justice - fruit of the regenerate soul in Christ. Justice will lead to justification - as the church reflects the heart of Jesus for the poor the world will observe this consistency and integrity and in turn people will turn to Jesus.   So what can I do?   2 pronged approach: Serve in my neighborhood: You surgical ability to see and meet needs that a larger group cannot. Individual, family, small (A2) group…   Serve with my church: There is a power and synergy unmatched when the church unifies with the heart of Jesus. Here are a few things one church is doing.   Westside Service statistics 2020: Provided 4273 Professional Counseling sessions - Up 21% Supported 155 people through 41 Care Groups (Lifelines) Led 6 Food Drives, 350,000 Meals, 800 volunteers & 100 students Gave Covid food relief & ovens in South Africa, Thailand, Laos WFC 8 Blood Drives, 395 donors, potential of 1227 lives saved Supported 650 children, 19 One-Life sites, 4 countries, 814 sponsors Supported 1387 overseas house-churches, 329 new churches! Initiated 44 overseas community development Micro-finance projects Partnerships: Avenue of Life, Hillcrest Housing, Mission House, etc.  Partnered to assist 1500 homeless families to obtain housing Opened AOL Youth House housing 12 teen girls Supported Christ The Victor Church inside & outside Lansing Prison Encouraged 750 Foster/Adoptive parents through our RE:Conference Supplied Christmas gifts to 400 foster-families, 300 workers, 150 GH 44 Foster/Adopted Children now supported by Westside A2 Groups   Additional Resources:   Find out more and get involved here!   Book - Generous Justice by Tim Keller   Book - Progress:10 Reasons to Look Forward to the Future by Johan Norberg   Film and Research on American Poverty - America Lost by Christopher Rufu    Submit Q&A Questions and episode suggestions here. Watch the YouTube video here!

We come to the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse. Please keep in mind that the subject has not changed and our Lord is still talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem.

We come to the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse. Please keep in mind that the subject has not changed and our Lord is still talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem.